Chalk up another official visit for Florida football this coming June! Three-star tight end [autotag]Eric Karner[/autotag] out of Elmhurst (Illinois) Immaculate Conception recently told Swamp247’s Blake Alderman that he plans on making an official visit with the Gators the weekend of June 9.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 220-pound end was offered a scholarship by UF on April 27 — three days after a high school visit by defensive line coach Sean Spencer. Florida followed up with a visit to his high school by tight ends coach Russ Callaway, after which Karner decided to plan an official visit to Gainesville this summer.
“(Calloway is) a coach that’ll give it to you straight,” the rising senior said. “He’ll tell you about where you’re lacking and what you need to improve on and I think that’s really good for me. When I’m getting coached, I need someone to tell me what I’m doing wrong so I can fix it. He does a good job not sugarcoating some abilities that I have and some things I need to do better on and stuff like that.”
It appears that the young athlete also appreciates what the Orange and Blue can do for him off the field as well.
“I like how their academics are and I do think the way they do their scheme, I could possibly fit in,” he said. “I need to learn a little bit more. I know that Florida is a bit of a low-key campus like they get their work done and also have some fun.”
Among the many schools to have offered him a scholarship so far are the Iowa Hawkeyes, Michigan State Spartans, Purdue Boilermakers, Alabama Crimson Tide, Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn Tigers, Boston College Golden Eagles, Cincinnati Bearcats, South Carolina Gamecocks and Texas A&M Aggies — just to name a few.
Karner is ranked No. 586 overall and No. 28 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 485 and 29, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Hawkeyes leading in his recruitment with a 31.5% chance of signing him, followed by the Spartans (27.6%), Gators (17.9%) and Boilermakers (5.3%), respectively.
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